West Virginia Online Historical Photos Research

The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is January 2025)
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An old proverb states that “the eyes are the windows into the soul.” A genealogy corollary is that “a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors.”

I love old photos, whether they are portraits of my ancestors or historical photos of the period when they lived. It is important to complete research that one attempts to understand the environment that surrounds our ancestors’ lives if one wants to truly appreciate what they went through. 

So where can they be found?  Obviously, the best resources are our own photo albums and those that our relatives possess. But what about other resources? Many archives, historical societies, libraries, and genealogical societies have collections of old photos. And in the past few years, there has been a massive movement towards making these historical photo collections available online. Some have search capabilities where you can actually put in a surname or a location, the name of a building, or a historical event and find what is available.

For the state of West Virginia, what collections are available for you to browse and/or search online?  Here is a list of sites to start with. Please feel free to add in the comments other online resources that you might be aware of in the state.

Please be aware that there may be very strict rules regarding downloading or other use of the images that you may find. Copyright and other legal protections may be in force. Make sure that you read the limitations of use for any image that you find in these collections and wish to download and/or copy. It is your responsibility to adhere to the rules for all of these collections.

Please note that links to these sites may change in the future. The author (me) will not be constantly checking and updating these links, so if you find a broken link, please use your favorite search engine to locate the new link.

West Virginia Historical Photo Archives

For historical photos from other states as well as articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.

For all Free West Virginia Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on West Virginia, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

6 replies on “West Virginia Online Historical Photos Research”

Looking for any info especially pictures for the familly Tommie And Vernie Jarvis. They lived in clay, Calhoun WV area. Bthanks

Looking for any information on my Grandmother Kate Etta Watkins, born in (I believe Charlotte, Va) in May, 1873 to Annie Goode Watkins and at about age 12 was a step-daughter to Andrew Jackson Carter. At that point, I lose any trace of her at all. Have no idea where she went nor who she was with, etc. everything stops there! Please help.

I would love to compare family with you. I’m searching for Etta Watkins but have very little info on her. But have info on her family. Please email me off board if interested.? wvhomegirl@twc.com

Anything on Maggie Lena Stephenson.. I dont know her maddien name. She was my great grand mother George M. Stephenson mother. Don’t have anything on my geeat grand father and before him or her as well. I’d like to know more on Loraine settle Pauley mothers and fathers family etc.

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